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People and animals flee as Ruidoso fire continues to grow

By Alyssa Munoz

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    ROSWELL, New Mexico (KOAT) — Thousands of people have been evacuated out of the Village of Ruidoso as the South Fork Fire continues to grow.

The chaos forced people out of their homes and some who had just arrived in town.

“We came out here from Southern California. We just left those fires, came all the way out here. We have a job in Ruidoso. So, we went up there and then it was on fire. We’re there till about 9:30 p.m., and then we got evacuated,” said Caden Smith.

Both he and two others who came down to work say this is the craziest fire they’ve seen with their own eyes.

There are several shelters in place in Roswell including ENMU’s gymnasium.

“It’s just so sad to see so many people displaced. This is a huge devastation, so our hearts are with Ruidoso, and we just hope that they pull through with this,” said Martha Stab, the director of marketing and public relations for ENMU.

There are also shelters for both people and their pets or livestock.

“We had a handful of horses. We had I think it was four llamas. We probably had at least 30 dogs last night, a couple of cats and even a bird got to spend the night at the Eastern New Mexico State Fair, ” said Leslie Robertson, the officer manager for the Eastern New Mexico State Fair.

She says with the help of donations, they have plenty of food and space for people and their pets and livestock.

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